1913 type one three and one half legged buffalo PCGS XF45 sold last night by Great Collections
BUFFNIXX
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In case any one is interested in this coin and missed it one sold last night in a Great Collections auction for $1634.
A nice XF45. Notice that this is actually a 2 1/2 feather and 3 1/2 legged variety as the obverse die was also polished or
abraded. If you spot one of these coins front side up first you may have a 1913 two and one half feather or else
a 1913 2 and one half feather / 3 and one half legger because of the fact that these two dies, which apparently clashed,
had the abraded reverse removed and a fresh reverse die put in its place. Certainly some are still out there
unattributed considering the fact that over 30,900,000 1913 type ones were produced.
This coin has been sought by many collectors over the last 30 years or so with few actually turning up considering
how long it has been known.
Photos follow
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Comments
WOW that is quite the variety!! just shows how much they (the Mint) tried to keep the dies in use. Clash, remove clash marks ,return die to press and keep the production moving! I'm sure many people have looked for this over the years with not much luck.
nice variety. I am still looking for one in the wild.
I have always wondered when a worn dateless one would turn up but far as I can tell that was never happened.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
I wonder how much rarer it is compared to the other buff errors such as the 16/16 18/7 d and the 37 d 3 legged?
much rarer than any of these. For example the 1916/1916 has an estimated population of 200 while the 13 3 1/2
legger has an estimated population of 20. The 1918/7-d estimated population is 100,000 while the 37d 3 legged is
over 3,000 I believe.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Wow didn't know the 1918/7d was that many. I actually consider that not to bad of a deal compared to the other errors for the series.
Wow! Somebody really overpaid for that one. To me it is an unimportant minor variety of a very common date coin.
Many years ago and ms65 specimen of the 13 type one slabbed across the street was sold for about $50,000.
Minor variety? I don’t think so.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Varieties are in the eye of the beholder. The coin in question wouldn't get a $5 offer from me. This is a serious comment, not a joke. The buyers of these items had better hope that someone with deep pockets and a lot of interest is around when it comes time to sell.
GC is supposed to send me an email when this type of error is up for auction but they (and I) missed that one. I've updated values in my book.
I agree with Tom about it being a significant variety in the series. At first glance the leg appears to be missing entirely.
Tom-I think you're off by a couple of decimal places on the rarity of the 18/17-D. I think it's been estimated that around 100,000 were struck. That particular die had a full run (and beyond) as evidenced by this one as pictured, and I have seen worse. The variety is only scarce in the lower grade ranges
That's another one I've never found after searching for many years.
I think one reason, probably the main reason the 3 1/2 legged is as rare as it is has to be due to the severe clashes (more than just one) the dies suffered. These doubtlessly caused major damage to the dies, leading to very early die failure. But it's within the realm of possibility that the very weak leg was noticed, too.
Getting back to the 18/17-D for a minute, I think the 100,000 estimate minted must be pretty close. Denver Mint dies had an average life of 60,000 to 70,000 during that period and this die pair went far beyond the average.
I recall an unattributed dateless one being sold on eBay a number of years ago. I waited til the last few seconds hoping to snipe it, but my $250 bid was blown out of the water by several other last second bidders. Coin went for $600 plus. Seller asked me, and probably other bidders, what was so special. Ron may remember because we messaged about it later.
Yes, John-I remember that. I doubt that a dateless one would bring that today but the variety is so difficult to find that you never know.
This is a serious comment to. It is not expected that all collectors find varieties exciting. And there are probably a lot of buffalo collectors that do not like abraded or polished die varieties. In fact in the case of the buffalo nickel there are so many varieties I have heard people say that they just clutter up their collection. They just want to get the 64 regular issue coins. And then be satisfied with their great collection that is complete. And that is OK, there is no right or wrong when it comes to incorporating varieties into your collection. I have run into collectors that hate all varieties. One was on the boards many years ago into a big rant against the 1955 doubled die obverse penny. He said they should all be recalled and destroyed. (He did not explain how you would accomplish something like that.) In conclusion this variety is not going to drop in popularity, its popularity has been well supported over the past 30 years or so. Slowly over time this variety will go up and I cannot see it ever coming down.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
That label is sure busy with numbers galore.
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
I look for them but can do without the 2 feather and missing initials etc...
The 3-leg are a bit more interesting.
Monsters?
Yes these are remarkable finds after nearly a century.
LOL'd 291fifth's comment but then realized he is half right.... I would not pay for attributed examples.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
I had the good luck to get this off of eBay unattributed.
Keep looking!
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"